Impact of ultrasonic energy on the flow crystallization of dextrose monohydrate

In this paper, we investigate the potential of ultrasonic energy in a flow crystallization situation, which was designed to mimic the industrial process, in which dextrose monohydrate is in a flow environment before it finally passes into the batch crystallizer where it is slow cooled. In this study, we were specifically interested in the impact of ultrasound on the seed size, lump breakage, and the induced nucleation of the dextrose monohydrate. Experimental results show that in a flow situation exposing the system to ultrasound energy will affect the seed size, and that for this system the optimum exposure/residence time is approximately 60 s. The results also show that ultrasound can be used to break up dextrose lumps that form in the process pipes (mean product size < 100 mum).